Save Cooper Union Reaches Fundraising Goal

What does this mean? Well, first, the Committee can now afford the initial costs of the legal proceedings to push forward with their lawsuit against the board of Cooper Union. This includes lawyers fees, filing fees, and expert witness. Save Cooper Union has officially moved one step closer in their effort to stop president Jamshed Bharucha’s decision to charge a $20,000 tuition, which would end the school’s tradition of free education. This would unapologetically go against Cooper Union founder Peter Cooper’s initial vision: a free school.

Plus, now we get to see some civil response to the bad fiscal decision making by the school’s board of trustees and President. This includes spending $350,000 on an extravagant inauguration celebration just one month before the announcement to charge tuition, spending $1.5 million on consultants for an initiative to reinvent Cooper Union, and, of course, spending an exorbitant $167 million on their new building, 41 Cooper Square.

But, there’s still more money to be raised. The Committee is hoping to raise an additional $200,000 for a second phase of fundraising for legal fees which are likely. And if they get over their goal, the extra money will be donated to Cooper Union, which, for obvious reasons, needs the help.